Ivy Close

Born: Ivy Lilian Close was born on 15th June 1890 in Stockton-on-Tees. She was one of four children of John Close, a jeweller, and Emma Blackburn.

Educated:

Married: Ivy Close married Stuart Elwin Neame on 26th December 1910. He died in a car accident in 1923. In 1938 she married Curly Batson from Australia.

Family: Ivy Close had two sons, Ronald and Derek, by her first marriage. Ronald Neame became a film producer (“Brief Encounter”) and director (“The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie”) and Derek Neame became a writer.

Home: Although she had ambitions to become a world-famous film star, Ivy Close did not go to live in America, except for a one-year contract there. She went to New York in May 1916.

Known for: In 1908 Ivy Close was judged the World’s Most Beautiful Woman by the Daily Mirror. She appeared in her first film “Dream Paintings” in 1912. With her first husband, Elwin Neame, she founded Ivy Close Films in 1914 and starred in her first feature “The Lure of London” in that year. In 1916 she starred in several comedy films in America. By the time of her last film in 1929 she had appeared in 44 films.